Sunday, May 03, 2009
Hog farmers want everyone to know that the fear over the swine—sorry, H1N1—flu epidemic goes both ways. While people may be scared of catching the illness from eating pork, which experts say can’t happen, farmers have their own worries humans carrying the virus could infect their pigs. After all, the so-called “swine flu” is anything but, according to scientists who have determined that the flu is actually a combination of human, bird and pig viruses. Hog farmers insist the illness can be transmitted from humans to pigs, and precautions are now being advocated by industry groups and veterinarians for farmers to keep pigs in barns behind security fences and to limit access by any outside humans.
“If humans give it to pigs, we don’t have things like Tamiflu for pigs,” said National Pork Producers Council chief veterinarian Jennifer Greiner. “We don’t have antivirals. We have no treatment other than to give them aspirin.”
In fact, health officials in Canada have confirmed that pigs on a swine farm in Alberta contracted the virus from a swine farm worker who had recently returned from Mexico.
The World Health Organization on Thursday joined the U.S. government in deciding to stop calling the new strain of flu “swine flu” because it says the origin of the illness has not been officially determined.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Worker May Have Passed H1N1 to Alberta Pigs (CTV Toronto)
Farmers Fear Pigs May Get Swine Flu From People (by Carey Gillam, Reuters)
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